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'He is a great doctor, he has the magic touch'

Savera R Someshwar in Bombay

Bimal Maheshwari, chief sub-editor, Samkaleen, is 40 years old. He walks with a slight limp, favouring his left leg. But that does not hamper his movements in any way.

"I naturally walk very fast," he says. A regular commuter, he is quite adept -- like most people in Bombay -- in getting on and jumping off the city's suburban trains as it eases into the platform. He can climb seven to 10 floors without a problem.

Lately, though, he has been asked to slow down -- all thanks to an accident he had 12 years ago.

"When I went for my last check-up," says Maheshwari, "I was told to be more careful about my movements, especially not to run too much or anything like that."

The prosthesis -- it has a life span of 10 to 15 years -- that had been inserted to replace his damaged hip 12 years ago was beginning to show signs of wear and tear. And if Maheshwari was not too careful, he would have to go in for replacement surgery.

"If that happens," says Maheshwari emphatically, "I will opt for Dr Chittaranjan Ranawat only. He is a great doctor, he has the magic touch."

Maheshwari's decision has nothing to do with the slew of publicity currently surrounding the much-respected surgeon -- Dr Ranawat is scheduled to conduct knee replacement surgery on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Tuesday.

It is to do the fact that, 12 years ago, it was Dr Ranawat who relieved him from three years of agonising pain.

Maheshwari's saga began late one night when -- as usual -- he caught the last train home. It was past 0100 on February 5, 1985, and there was no one to notice him slipping and falling as he got down from the moving train at Dahisar station. "I was lying there," he says, " in severe pain and unable to move. I don't know what would happened if this man -- who was completely drunk -- had not spotted and helped me."

Within a couple of days, it was clear that 25-year-old Maheshwari had fractured his hip; a relatively minor operation involving the insertion of a pin to hold the fracture in place until it healed. Physiotherapy followed and that, he believes, was when something went wrong. The fracture did not bond properly and the pin cut into the ball in the hip socket.

Another operation was recommended -- this time, he was told, he would have to undergo partial hip replacement (which meant the hip ball only would be replaced, the socket would be left as is) surgery.

Maheshwari's body rejected the implant, leading to severe -- at times unbearable -- pain and loss of normal mobility. "I was on painkillers all the time," he recalls. "I had to walk with the help of either a walking stick or crutches. There were times I could not walk at all because the pain was so severe."

His family panicked, they consulted several doctors hoping someone would be able to relieve their young son's agony. But no solution was forthcoming. Until, one day, his sister called from Pune.

She had heard of an NRI doctor called Chittaranjan S Ranawat who performed knee and hip replacement surgeries at the Sancheti Hospital each year. He came down only for few weeks, she said, but seemed very competent and popular. In fact, the Pune newspapers were strewn with advertisements about his arrival.

Maheshwari met Dr Ranawat and his colleague, the Sion Hospital-based Dr Nandu Laud in Bombay in 1987. "They saw my papers and X-rays and recommended a complete hip replacement," he says, of the examination that took just 15 minutes (Which is just about the duration of the PM's examination as well). "His present schedule was already full, so Dr Ranawat gave me an appointment for the following year."

At first, Maheshwari was not sure what to make of the world-renowned surgeon. "I thought I would be able to speak to him in Marathi or Hindi. But he spoke in English, with an American accent. That made me nervous. He would not speak to us much; mostly, he would discuss the case with Dr Laud."

At the same time, there was something in the doctor's manner that inspired Maheshwari's confidence. "He was soft-spoken. Though he would not speak too much -- only as much as necessary -- he would answer every question that we asked him. For someone who is so famous, he is not the least bit of arrogant. And he has a manner that makes you feel he will really help you."

Maheshwari decided the wait was worth it. He was asked to take a series of X-rays -- in three different positions -- and send them to Dr Ranawat in New York. The X-rays would then be used to measure the right size of the hip prosthesis Maheshwari would require.

The operation was conducted under general anaesthesia at Sancheti Hospital, Pune, with Dr Laud and Dr K H Sancheti (of the Sancheti Hospital) assisting Dr Ranawat. "He is a busy man," says Maheshwari, "so they prepare three, four patients at the same time. He only does the main operation and then moves to the next patient, the rest of it is done by the other doctors."

The procedure -- including the time spent at the recovery room -- took just four to five hours, followed by 16 days of post-operative care. "Dr Ranawat came to see me a couple of times," he says, "but it was Dr Laud and Dr Sancheti who came to see me every day."

On February 13, 1988, Maheshwari was discharged from hospital. "Once again," he says, "I was a free man; free to resume my life, free from pain. Of course, there are certain things I cannot do -- squat, for example, or sit crossed legged -- but, otherwise, I am back to normal."

The PM's surgery : The full coverage

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